Saisons (or Farmhouse Ales) seem to be gaining in popularity lately and we're beginning to see a good selection of options available on the beer shelves. On my recent trip to Las Vegas I brought home two saisons brewed in the state of Nevada to pit against an exciting collaboration between Ft. George Brewing in Astoria and The Commons Brewery in Portland. Beers were tasted blind.

Beer #1 (Ft. George/The Commons Plazm Farmhouse Ale) was orangish brown with sweet citrus, fresh cut grass and cloves on the nose. It featured a medium body and a smooth mouthfeel with sweet malt, citrus and mild banana flavors. The citrus continued into the finish with some sweet honey and floral notes along with a mild bitterness.

Beer #2 (Under the Rose Saisonbeer) was brownish orange with a nose of earth, funk, honey, ripe-banana and band-aid. It seemed a bit undercarbonated and had a medium body that featured savory herb and banana flavors as well as some tinny, metallic notes. The finish was simple, sweet and fast with no bitterness at all.

Beer #3 (Joseph James Pro-Am Saison) was a hazy, murky yellow and smelled of a bouquet of roses (seriously!). The flavor was more crisp and citrus focused with a medium to light body. In the finish we detected grain, yeast and a moderate citrus bitterness.

This was a fun battle as all three beers were extremely different. When it came right down to it though, we both agreed that we had just experienced a Goldilocks Bottle Battle: The Saisonbeer was too sweet, the Pro-Am was too citrusy and the Plazm was juuust right (for us anyway).